More than two million pilgrims are expected in Turin for the 2015 Exposition of the Holy Shroud, which is taking place in the city’s cathedral from 19 April to 24 June. As was the case in 2010, the Enzo Hruby Foundation is collaborating with Samsung Techwin to protect the relic by dint of employing the latest generation of video surveillance technology.

Turin-based Centro Sistemi Antifurto designed and installed the video surveillance system required to monitor the areas dedicated to the Exposition, as well as the route to be taken by visitors and its surrounding areas. Images captured by the Samsung Techwin cameras are being recorded and transmitted in real-time to an operations centre at the police headquarters in Turin, in turn enabling a quick response should any incidents arise.

Riello UPS has contributed to the success of the project by supplying the emergency power supply units for the system.

“The Committee was firmly dedicated to ensuring absolute peace of mind for everyone involved while the event takes place,” explained Maurizio Baradello, director general of the Organising Committee for the Exposition. “It was an objective that all the parties involved in the project aimed to meet within a climate of positive co-operation.”

Surveillance and security services provided by law enforcement agencies are in place in the Exposition area and supported in their task by the surveillance network made available thanks to the Committee.

“We’re proud to have been able to offer our support in protecting the Exposition of the Holy Shroud for the second time,” said Carlo Hruby, vice-president of the Enzo Hruby Foundation. “The project is gratifying not only because of the object on which it is focused, but also due to the excellent co-operation that has been forged between public entities and the companies that joined us. It’s a unique project dedicated to an event with a global reach and a very high symbolic value.”

Hruby continued: “It’s also part of our Foundation’s commitment to protect ecclesiastical treasures, which alone make up about 70% of Italy’s entire cultural heritage. A heritage which, together with the most important and well-known treasures and monuments, consists of a myriad of churches and oratories scattered throughout the country, very often without adequate protection against theft and vandalism. As a matter of fact, in 2014, as in previous years, churches were the places that saw the greatest number of thefts of cultural objects. Our hope is that a project focused on protection on such a large scale may also act as a stimulus to communicate the possibilities that technology offers us when it comes to protecting these buildings in an affordable way.”

The camera installation

Samsung Techwin’s SNP-5430H 1.3 Megapixel HD weatherproofed PTZ auto-tracking speed domes are among the cameras deployed. The powerful 43x zoom capability of the SNP-5430H is enhanced by an auto-tracking feature which allows operators to monitor the movement of people or vehicles while remaining hands-free to control other cameras.

SNO-6084RP 2 Megapixel Full HD Bullet cameras have also been installed. Part of the Samsung Techwin WiseNetIII range, the SNO-6084RP is equipped with a motorised varifocal lens and built-in IR illuminators and readily able to capture high quality images whatever the lighting conditions.

For this particular project, the images from the cameras are being recorded onto a Samsung Techwin SRN-1000 NVR. With 24 Tb of on-board video storage capacity, the Linux-based SRN-1000 is more than capable of storing all the images captured by the cameras during the event, as well as providing operators with the ability to quickly search and review video of any incidents.

The SNO-6084RP 2 Megapixel Full HD bullet camera

“Samsung Techwin’s technological contribution to this project is part of a wider context that sees our company involved in making the latest innovative security and video surveillance technology generally accessible,” said Fabio Andreoni, Samsung Techwin Europe’s country manager for Italy.

“This philosophy is fully consistent with the intentions and goals of the Enzo Hruby Foundation with whom we are pleased to co-operate for such important projects. Our contribution to protecting Italy’s immense artistic and cultural heritage is also supported by the idea that all of this can be of help in terms of feeding a virtuous circle which is able to generate benefits for all involved, including the institutions, law enforcement agencies and private companies. In particular, we can benefit visitors to the Exposition who are able to safely enjoy the experience with complete peace of mind.”